Customer Reviews

Ford At Fox Collection: John Ford's Silent Epics (Just Pals / Four Sons / The Iron Horse / Hangman's House / Bad Men)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Fox is certainly sticking its neck out with its uber-large uber-expensive release "Ford at Fox" that has been talked about and expected for over a year. This is a scaled down version of that larger set and contains only the five silent films in the larger collection without the fancy packaging and extras it contains. The films included are:

Just Pals (1920) - only 50 minutes long, stars Buck Jones as a small town fellow who befriends a homeless boy.
Feature film with Dolby 5.0 Surround Sound and Spanish/French subtitles

The Iron Horse (1924) - George O'Brien stars in the story of the building of the Union Pacific Railroad.
Two versions - U.K. and United States
Feature film with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and Spanish/French subtitles
Commentary by Author & Film Historian Robert Birchard (International only)
"Scoring The Past: The Iron Horse Sessions with Christopher Caliendo" featurette (International only)
Restoration comparison (International only)
Vintage program (International only)
Advertising gallery (International only)

3 Bad Men (1926) - stars George O'Brien in a saga of three outlaws of the wild west who become protectors of a little girl after her mother is killed. Sports some of Ford's great scenic long shots that his westerns are known for.
Feature film with Dolby 5.0 Surround Sound and Spanish/French subtitles

Four Sons (1928)- Three German brothers enlist in the German army during WWI, the fourth goes to America.
Feature film with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and Spanish/French subtitles

Hangman's House (1928) - screen debut of John Wayne and stars Victor McLaglan in a saga set in Ireland. A predecessor to "The Informer", this time McLaglan is playing the hero.
Feature film with Dolby 5.0 Surround Sound and Spanish/French subtitles

Considering John Ford's reputation as one of the greatest and most influential American directors who won four Academy Awards for Best Director in the early sound era, it's about time some of his silent films were also released on DVD in a nice set which they deserve. And this new set of five films lives up to expectations with beautifully restored clear picture quality and newly created orchestral music accompaniment to match the superior quality of each film. Although well known to many as a director of Westerns with John Wayne, John Ford was also an actor, writer and producer, starting his career in films in the early 1910s, and by 1920 his skills had already been well developed, as the first film in this set, "Just Pals" clearly shows. Equally skilled in any genre, Ford can bring out the best in a story with careful attention to drama and detail which express the emotions and depths of his characters. This is perhaps most poignant in "Four Sons" which I found very moving, as well as impressive in its attention to the beautiful and detailed setting in Bavaria before and during World War I. Just as much careful attention to detail was given by the modern music composers for these DVD releases, choosing tunes, instruments and moods which make the story and scenes become vividly real. Cowboy tunes on guitar for some of the Westerns and German melodies for the setting in Bavaria are just two examples of this finely-tuned marriage of silent film and music presented on each of these discs.

No doubt one of his greatest Western epics, "The Iron Horse" is about the laying of the first railroad across the West to California, with emphasis on historic authenticity in every imaginable aspect, from featuring two of the original locomotives which were used in the real construction project, to the individual workers and their lives and personalities, at times seasoned with a touch of humour. This grand production would rival a Cecil B DeMille epic in the number of people involved, as well as the moving and exciting historical event in itself, but there are similar such impressive grand-scale scenes in the other quite different Western in this set, namely "3 Bad Men", which focuses more on individual people and their personalities, and what really defines the word `bad'. A similar examination of true characters in people is "Just Pals" about a lazy town bum and the homeless boy he takes under his wing as he tries to change his image and prove himself. Quite different in setting but also very intriguing for some of its particularly wicked characters is "Hangman's House" which is actually set in Ireland, and along with a superbly eerie old house, it has a tight and complicated plot which unfolds at an exciting pace. And for another change of pace, this time a human family drama oozing sentimentality and `old world charm', "Four Sons" is quite unforgettable, perhaps because it feels so real, and no doubt many families did indeed share a similar fate during WWI. No matter which genre or type of story, Ford's expertise as a director and also producer make this excellent selection a worthy addition to any film-lover's collection, not just for silent film enthusiasts alone.

JOHN FORD'S SILENT EPICS which is part of the much larger FORD AT FOX collection is a most welcome addition to the catalogue of available DVDs and fortuntaely for silent film fans you don't have to buy the entire set. Of the 5 films in this set THE IRON HORSE is the most famous and has already been reviewed by me so I'll focus on the remaining four films. The title SILENT EPICS is a little misleading as two of the films JUST PALS from 1920 and HANGMAN'S HOUSE from 1928 are much smaller in scope dealing as they do with smalltown America and rural Ireland. FOUR SONS (1928) with its World War I setting and 3 BAD MEN (1926), another large scale Western, are certainly more deserving of the title.

All 5 films have newly commissioned musical scores by five different composers (Christopher Caliendo, Tim Curran, Dana Kaproff, and John & Alexander Kaplan) which their respective films perfectly. 4 of the 5 films begin with a gentle warning about bringing the film to DVD using the best available source materials which is another way of saying that they haven't been fully restored. Despite some scratches early on these movies look great considering their age and the fact that no original Fox silent negatives exist anymore. While the technology does exist to completely restore these films one can't expect Fox to spend a fortune on what is clearly a niche market and we are lucky to still have these titles at all.

3 BAD MEN presages Ford's 3 GODFATHERS (1948), HANGMAN'S HOUSE is the start of his love affair with Ireland (and John Wayne's first visible film appearance), and JUST PALS is an early vehicle for ill-fated Fox star Buck Jones who would die in Boston's notorious Coconut Grove fire in 1942. It was also Ford's first film for William Fox. The real treasure here in my opinion is FOUR SONS which combines Ford's epic and intimate qualities outside of the Western. It's in the roughest shape of all the titles but still looks awfully good. The overall quality of the films, the fine new music scores, and the additional special features make this set a must have.

Why did Fox choose to eliminate "Four Son"s original Movietone soundtrack?
The film was originally released with synchronized music and sound effects
including several brilliant limited uses of dialogue. Couldn't the original score be offered as an option? A true botch job in an otherwise
excellent set.

This is a dvd set really worth purchasing for those who love silent movies and for all vintage movie buffs. The two highlight films are "The Iron Horse" (1924) which has two versions. The international version, which is shorter than the american version, which runs two and a half hours. This truly is the first great epic western and certainly John Ford's.Tall and handsome George O'Brien stars in this and "3 Bad Men" (1926), a big star particularly in the twenties. J. Farrell MacDonald also features prominently in "The Iron Horse" and "3 Bad Men", a great charactor actor, who played a lot of irish policemen , with a sense of humour, in the thirties. The other highlight film is "Four Sons" (1928) which features James Hall, who was to later star in Howard Hughes' "Hell's Angels" (1930). I was disappointed that "Four Sons" did not have the originally recorded music and sound effects soundtrack ( which was featured in the "Hollywood" tv series in the seventies, about silent cinema), however the new score created for all the movies was excellent."Hangman's House" (1928) is also a great Ford film starring the legendary Victor McLaglen, who later starred in the classic Ford film "The Informer"(1935). Interesting to note that in "Hangman's House", featured in his first film appearance ,is John Wayne, clearly glimpsed in a crowd scene. For all those who collect John Wayne movies, I bet you don't have this one."Just Pals" (1920) is an early example of Ford's magnificent directing and shows just how far back his career really went.All movies are digitally remastered with a crystal clear picture quality , for such vintage films.I wish, though, that they had given some extra features and sound over reviews, however this dvd set is really worth getting and I know you vintage movie buffs, out there, won't be disappointed, as I was delighted.

I have seen all movies presented in this box set. Great film maker, very valuable pieces in every film fan library of dvds.

I was really happy when I found out the Fox would be releasing "offical" editions of some of John Ford's silent classics. It's interesting to see the German Expressionism a la F. W. Murnau pop up in such films as Hangman's House and Four Sons, with a dose of John Ford comedy in each. I had not seen Just Pals before getting the set and was pleasantly surprised at how good and John Ford like he was at the very begining of his directorial career. Both the Iron Horse and Bad Men give us early examples of the John Ford epic western. I liked tthe extras and wished that there were commentaries on all of the movies, not just the Iron Horse.
A note about the music: I felt that the new scores worked rather well for the films, but I wished that they would have included the movietone scores (Four Sons) as well. But that is only a minor quibble in an otherwise excellent set.

it a long time I'm trying to put a claim because I never received the order .
Every attempt thru " where is my stuff" was unsuccessfully .
can you help to find the right link to do it in your site ?
thanks
nicola santilli